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Explained: DR Rankings
Spoilers ahead. Danganropa Trigger Happy Havoc 15. Hifumi Yamada Every time he opens his mouth I want to punch him. Nothing he says really contributes to the trial and drifts off-topic to anime or one of his fanfictions. Oh, and one of the few times he's asked NOT to do something, he does it anyways and talks with Alter-Ego after a consensus that no one should tamper with the system. I know he's lonely or whatever, but can't he follow one simple instruction? Following that, he DOES follow Celes's commands when setting up the murder. Yet, he should've realized that accomplices are NOT the blackened so he couldn't have graduated with the Ultimate Gambler. He deserved his death for following in her footsteps and thinking he could stay alive as a witness (potentially exposing her guilt). I wish he died sooner because his very presence disgusts me. 14. Leon Kuwata There's not much to like. I suppose I can sympathize that he didn't want to die and killed Sayaka as self-defense since he was her target, but there's nothing to cover up what he did. His character never really got developed and he's just the Ultimate Baseball Player. I realize he's the first murderer of the series, but he has no backstory, kills off one of my favorites in the cast and has a horrible execution (seriously, who dies from too many baseballs? Maybe it could give him a concussion, but instant death?) He's not very remarkable, which makes sense as he is one of the first to die. He’s kind of the generically hot blooded aggressive guy in a lot of animes. His talent only comes up once when he tries to get rid of evidence by throwing it into an incinerator he can’t reach, only to have it work against him when there’s still evidence that shows only he could have possibly done it. There was also the brief mention of his dream to be a musician, though it seemed very random and never went anywhere. That MIGHT explain why people ship him and Sayaka, so she could teach him how to be a musician, but does not make me like him more. It was meant to add depth to his character, but I feel like the writing should've stuck to his Ultimate talent given his quick execution. It was sloppy. He sets a very low bar for later killers as he sloppily disposed of evidence and did not make much effort to cover his tracks. I know that it's from the first case in the first game so he is only meant to be an introductory killer to the franchise. If there’s one good thing I liked about him though, he’s fulfills the role of, “anyone can be a killer in this game”. 13. Kiyotaka Ishimaru He just bored me. Yes he was friends with Mondo and was devastated after his death, but he never really appealed to me. He randomly got angry (and had some weird "power up" design) but I never saw anything to trigger it? His Ultimate power is also pretty generic (and who cares if you're the moral compass). Besides his friendship with Mondo he's easily one of the most forgettable characters of the first game. 12. Yashuhiro Hagasuke What did he even do? What kind of talent is Ultimate Fortune Teller? He spent two years of his savings on a fucking crystal ball that gets shattered in the first trial. Is he so dense that he can't keep track of his most valuable belonging? Other than his inability to do anything correctly and general uselessness, he makes it all the way to the end and graduates. That's right, he gets REWARDED for his laziness and survives over worthier candidates. He serves as a good comic relief, but there isn't much depth to his character. 11. Mondo Owada The Ultimate Biker is someone I never really got into. In the gameplay, he was such a screenhog and felt like he talked every other line, so I honestly wasn't that upset when he was an early out. Although he has a troubling backstory, I had a hard time respecting him after the murder. He killed someone who relied on him and looked up to him, and he just smashed their head with a dumbbell and hung them up at the gym. Like Teruteru, while I liked his backstory, I have a hard time supporting a character who killed one of their allies then had it covered up by a family backstory. 10. Junko Enoshima I'm honestly not sure what to make of her given her multiple personalities. She came across as a ditz leading up to her "death", but it seemed off that someone could be wiped off the map without a proper trial (though it wasn't needed in this case since they saw Monokuma "kill" her). Her constant changing personality from an arrogant royal, to cutesy deceiving girly girl, to a seemingly depressed emo, to the DIO pose, she’s a blast to watch and was a really entertaining “mastermind.” Constantly talking trash to the survivors and manipulating them to do what she says, she’s a pretty intimidating antagonist. She also has a very twisted view of despair, even going as far as executing herself when she finally loses just so she can feel the despair of death. While I feel like she's an interesting character, she doesn't have enough appearances to justify a higher placement (where she takes up the last two hours of both games, and dies early as the "Ultimate Fashionista". Her appearance in the first game was pretty shocking (and again, I knew she would play a larger role, I just didn't expect her to be the mastermind) but not as much in DR2 since it felt like a rehash of the previous game. Plus, there was no build-up the second time around to make us suspect her as the mastermind; I would've been more likely to believe it was the Future Foundation where either Chiaki or Monomi were the final boss (just a theory). She also comes off as incredibly shallow. You'd think a character with multiple personalities would show depth, and she does, but not to the extent I expected. Her explanation for being the Ultimate Despair is that she's born that way and that the world was always yearning for despair. I'm not looking for a deep backstory, but it would've been nice to show conflict between her and Mukuro or reasoning WHY she found comfort in despair. The endings just felt forced, particularly with DR2, but I with she had more motivation than just "despair" (same goes for Nagito, except for hope). 9. Chihiro Fujisaki I've started to like other characters more, but they had great backstory while alive. I'm still not sure which pronouns to use but I related to their desire to hide their identity. It can be scary to expose yourself to others, especially when your secret is released without consent. As the submissive in their interactions with Mondo, I knew that their death would be towards the beginning, but I didn't expect it to be so gruesome. Chihiro just wanted to become stronger and overcome insecurities, only to be killed by the hands of someone they trusted. I'm neutral about their return as Alter-Ego, since it seemed a little too simple to have a computer that would solve the cases, but it made sense as the Ultimate Programmer. Alter-Ego made their departure more satisfying since Chihiro was still there in spirit and could keep feeding information from the grave. 8. Sayaka Miazono I initially wasn't fond of her after watching the anime; after bonding with Naegi she dies and it lacks the bubbly/pop sensation attitude that she presents in the gameplay. While I know she intended to be the first murderer, her failure makes me sympathize since she was not ready to die. She mapped out a plan to frame her only outside acquaintance but was viciously attacked in the process. I admire her proactivity and determination to win, even if she had to accuse her friend from home to graduate. Then again, being psychic/having good intuition seems to be false, since she never saw Leon attacking her. (Guess we'll have to rely on our favorite fortune teller who's only right 30% of the time). I like her as the concept that anyone in the game can die. No matter how important they may seem, no one’s safe from the game. That said, it didn’t terribly surprise me; once I saw her freaking out after seeing her DVD message, I just knew something was going to happen to her. Since she was so close to Makoto so fast, I worried that she would get hurt, plus early development usually means an early-out. She could be a bit bland at times, but her sweetness made up for it imo. She's an enigma since a sweet pop sensation just wants to go home to her fans but isn't afraid to play dirty. 7. Aoi Asahina I really like Asahina. While she may be a bit clueless, she's adorable and has one of the best friendships in DR1. Aside from her gimmicks of swimming and donuts, she gets some development with Sakura, particularly following her death. Speaking from the anime side (since I have not seen the gameplay), she goes into isolation when she realizes that her friend is dead and refuses to speak to anyone because they forced her away. Maybe I just love her because of our adoration for Sakura, but she's such a sweetheart and I'm glad she made it to the end of the game. 6. Byakuya Togami Ah yes, the Ultimate Asshole. He's our asshole, but he's still a prick with a superiority complex. Aside from being a general total elitist dick who puts everyone beneath him, his most asshole-ish moment is when he straight up defiles Chihiro’s corpse, making it seem like Genocide Jack had killed her, just so he can make this game more “interesting” (because the idea of having classmates kill each and try to hide that fact clearly isn’t interesting enough). He also believes from the start that he is going to survive. Now, I lowkey hoped Monokuma would make an example out of him like he did with Junko, but he does not openly disobey people. He is not afraid to voice his opinion, whether in consent or dissent, but he understands the rules of the Academy and complies by the standards to graduate. Out of all the DR1 survivors, he's one of three (Kyoko and Makoto being the others) who actually fought their way to the end. Given his background as an elite and constant journeys to the library, he was very efficient in the trials and could bring a level of common sense where it was lacking. He also befriends most of the cast, or at least learns to tolerate them, which is great development by the end of the game. One of my favorite moments of his is when after they find out that Sakura had committed suicide to stop the fighting between them he renounces his decision to participate in the killing game. Sure, he claims it’s because the game has gotten boring, but I think he really does respect Sakura’s sacrifice after that trial. Lastly, TELL EM NAEGI!!! 5. Sakura Ogami I love everything about her. I know that everyone has ulterior motives, but she's one of the most humbled and decent characters of the franchise. While she does not do much throughout the game, which is why I sadly can't place her higher, she always has the best intentions and looks out for her comrades, specifically Hina. One scene she decides to stay with Hina in her room when she is too freaked out about the killing game so she can calm her down. She's also super motivated. If you couldn't tell from her muscles, she’s always training and drinking protein, hoping to one day earn the title of the “strongest fighter on earth", earning her the title of Ultimate Martial Artist (queen). Of course, her defining moment is in Chapter 4. When she’s revealed to be a traitor by Monokuma (mainly because she thought he was holding her family dojo captive), the expected reaction by everyone (except Hina) is not trust her and they think she might kill them. She's labeled as a bigger outcast than before and recognizes that she will not regain trust. That’s why she ultimately decided to commit suicide via poisoning because despite what they think of her, she still treated them all as friends at the very end and wanted to stop them fighting. Her actions really do reach out to the rest of the survivors (she’s actually the last student to die in the first game not counting the mastermind), and it was pretty heartbreaking to see her go and to see Hina lose her best friend. 4. Celestia Ludenburg Ultimate Gambler, royalty and loyal to her milk tea. She's a self-proclaimed queen, knows it, and expects people to bow before her commands (to a much harsher extent than Sonia). I absolutely LOVE her VA and she has some killer one-liners about the need to take risks, which garners respect from some of her classmates in the first two chapters. I knew fairly early on that she was going to be a killer, maybe it was just her demeanor, but I knew she would make it decently far in the game. That being said, she's the most obvious killer in the game. Unlike Leon and Teruteru, who only showed their guilt during the trial, she loses her calm exterior on multiple occasions and has no alibi for the entire case. I understand that she is a gambler and has been her entire life, so she's used to taking risks and succeeding. But, it was interesting character development to see her lose a bet for the first time. Though impressive she'd never lost a bet, she couldn't win when her life was at stake. 3. Makoto Naegi I've loved him since he first came on screen (AND DESERVES ALL THE LOVE THAT THE WORLD CAN GIVE HIM). He's so dorky and relatable, especially because his ultimate power was just a placeholder after winning the lottery (and thankfully doesn't have an association with a certain "lucky" student). Despite his placeholder, I wouldn't exactly call him lucky. He gets framed as a murderer the first trial (mostly from Fukawa with NO evidence), watches his friends die after dying to save them and gets an "execution" when accused of a murder he did not commit. From that first trial, we learn how naive he is, trusting that the girl he knew from home would act the same in both settings, wanted to accuse him of murder if she survived against Leon. He's a protagonist with flaws and obstacles from the start. By the final trial, I gained sooooo much respect for him. He EARNS HIS FREAKING ULTIMATE TITLE BATTLING JUNKO ENOSHIMA. Because he is naive and believes they aren't murderers at heart, he doesn't give up on people and only wants to spread hope. Although he idolized some characters in the beginning, he treats his classmates like allies, friends, humans, instead of looking for the hidden motives and talents that can lead someone towards despair. He doesn't doubt characters and tries to remember them after their deaths to honor their memories rather than obscure it with the despair of their crimes. In DR2, he's still holding onto that hope by joining the Future Foundation (freaking king). He knows that he has to battle Junko again, and has pretty great repertoire between hope and despair, to save the program for Ultimate Despairs. While people like Junko would rather let them fail, Naegi would never give up hope on those who need it and returned to the DR universe to foster that belief in each of the DR2 survivors. TELL EM NAEGI!!!! 2. Toko Fukawa She comes off as a bit of a Mikan like character, with more stuttering, and doesn't become interesting until she shows undying love for Byakuya Togami. I love how flustered she gets, calling him master and becoming thankful when he recognizes her presence. It was honestly so funny and I lived for the moments when she made him super uncomfortable and dismissed her. If not for Genocider Jill, she would not be this high. I love how she casually mentions the fact that she's a serial killer, pulling out her scissors when convicted of murder. There's even a moment in Chihiro's trial where she WISHED she had killed them, even after a rant about her serial killer morals. Especially in the final trial, she's just amazing. When Junko arrives as the mastermind, she casually says hello to her like they're old friends. Only Genocider Jill can be so badass that she's casually friends with Junko Enoshima. It's pretty unrealistic that she never kills anyone because the other multiple personality characters like Peko/Sparkling Justice and Celes/Celestia Ludenburg are killers. I wouldn't WANT her to die, but it is an inconsistency. 1. Kyoko Kirigiri Danganropa 2: Goodbye Despair 16. Nagito Komeada 15. Mikan Tsumiki 14. Teruteru Hanamura There's not much to say about his character other than the fact that he's an exaggerated Soda. Rather than focus on one girl, Hanamura decides to (unsuccessfully) flirt with all of them and pretends like he isn't a pervert every time he opens his mouth. I'm glad he was one of the first to go, but I was honestly annoyed that he was the first killer, mostly because I didn't want to assume that the obvious choice was the murderer. But since it was the first trial, the fucking caterer ended up being the murderer and lied his ass off during the trial. One thing I don't understand about him was his sudden dialogue change. There really wasn't a need to change his voice ESPECIALLY because of how annoying it became (that Avril Lavigne line <3). I get that the writers probably wanted to emphasize his guilt, since revealing a new face during a trial can make you the culprit, but it seemed forced. After that, I really sympathized with his backstory. While I do not like his character, I teared up when I knew he couldn't return to his diner and only joined Hopes Peak to make a better life for himself. He just wanted to go home and make sure his mom was okay, who was working sick at the family diner by herself and deny the idea that something has happened to her…only for him to be executed before he can find out what did happen. 13. Akane Owari Despite making it far in the game, I still don't feel like I know her character. Following Nekomaru's injury (and later death), I felt awful for her since they were training to help themselves progress in the game. Yet, this escalates into reckless behavior where Monokuma nearly kills her and Nidai takes the fall. THEN THE FUCKING CRYING HAPPENS. I'd rather be stuck in a room with Nagito ranting about hope than listen to her cry. Yes she's upset, but I didn't think it was possible to be a more annoying crier than Mikan. Aside from that, she's mostly comic relief and gorges herself on food, particularly in the beginning of the game. She is also a fan service character, as most of her poses are very revealing (particularly "charged up" one where she unbuttons her shirt). She was never very helpful in the trials, particularly Nekomaru's where she was hung up on the pillar, and is fairly reckless with her ultimate ability. All in all, I wish she'd gotten more development after Nekomaru died but she deserved her place as a semi-floater (since she received some plot) in the surviving cast. 12. Kazuichi Soda At first, his character peaked around 7th since the game mostly showed his fun-loving side and tendency to crack jokes. As the game progressed, we see the Ultimate Mechanic develop an unhealthy adoration for Princess Sonia Nevermind. While I can sympathize, most of his plot centers around her, trying to appease her, make her notice him that he comes off as desperate, clingy and toxic as he continues to pursue her after being rejected on multiple occasions. There was even one point in chapter 2 where the girls host a swimming party and he arrives an hour early just to scope the scene. He forces poor Hajime to wait with him in the diner, waiting to gawk at her in a two-piece (even though she arrives in a wetsuit) and the other female cast. My main concern about Soda is the fact that he gets so far without doing much at all. Yes he fixed the elevator in the funhouse and occasionally brings up a good point during the class trials, but, in my opinion, he is the biggest floater of the surviving cast. Unlike the other survivors, Soda did not watch a loved one or close friend die. In fact, the only cast member he appears close to is Sonia Nevermind who rejects him on a daily basis. Not that I want Sonia to be executed, but, had that occurred, I would've garnered more respect for him as we would see a new side, agony, instead of his misogynistic self. The writers created a two-dimensional character who fails to break free of objectifying women and serving as a (sometimes obnoxious) comic relief. 11. Byakuya Togami Ah, the Ultimate Imposter. While he did not stick around long, and I suspected he would be the first to die. But honestly, did he think he could gather everyone together without a murder happening? Was he so delusional that he thought he could prevent murders in Danganropa? I felt sorry for him after briefly hearing his backstory (WHICH ISN'T EVEN YOURS YOU IMPOSTER), and loved the scene where he gorges himself on food. The main reason why he's up here is that he was prepared to act. Rather than sit by helplessly and watch his companions die, he sought to protect everyone and wanted to have a friendly gathering before the murders started. The strip check was a bit much, particularly from the girls, but it came from a place of safety. It was clear that the note freaked him out (thanks Nagito), knowing he would be targeted, yet still tried to make the most of his situation. 10. Nekomaru Nidai 9. Mahiru Koizumi She is one of the purest souls from the franchise. Despite her short stay, she becomes close friends with Hiyoko and is seen holding her hand and teaching her to tie kimonos, building a sisterly bond between them. She served as a mediator for everyone and started the tradition of meeting at the restaurant each morning. The best part? She's a photojournalist which is something I've dreamed of. She took key pictures for the first trial, a standard for character placements within the cabin, which was crucial evidence to solve the case. I would put her higher had I seen more development, but she's just a ball of warmth and joy that it's hard not to like her. 8. Hiyoko Saionji I loved Hiyoko when I first started watching. As the game progressed, I slowly got annoyed by her constant bullying (even though it was toward Mikan <3) and felt like it was unwarranted most of the time. On the other hand, I liked how Mahiru softened her character. When they were together, they were holding hands, showering together, taking photos or learning to tie kimonos. It was particularly troubling to see her after Mahiru's death because it was obvious how upset she was to lose her closest friend. Following that trial, I sympathized even more since she trapped herself in her room and refused to come out of hiding. We saw her as a helpless child who could no longer do something as simple as tying a kimono, unable to cope with the loss. While there is no "good" time to die, I wished she had survived longer and been able to preserve Mahiru's legacy. She deserved to be one of the survivors and I wish she hadn't at the wrong place at the wrong time (and what an ironic death too...killed by her victim). 7. Hajime Hinata 6. Gundham Tanaka 5. Fuyuhiko Kuzuryuu I love baby gangster to pieces. 4. Ibuki Mioda 3. Peko Pekoyama 2. Chiaki Nanami 1. Sonia Nevermind For a more detailed description, check here. Category:DR